Winterlude Second Weekend Highlights

Canadian sport, comedy, and fashion shine during the second week of
exciting activities

OTTAWA, Feb. 5, 2014 /CNW/ - The second week of the 36th Winterlude, the Capital's winter celebration, promises to be an
exciting one. Winterlude continues in Canada's Capital Region until
February 17, 2014.

Here is a sampling of some of the activities taking place during the second week of Winterlude.

Crystal Garden in Confederation Park

This Thursday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m., Veterans Affairs Canada will
illuminate a unique ice sculpture to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Visitors to Crystal Garden can marvel at this impressive sculpture
made from one hundred blocks of ice.

As our Canadian athletes get set to compete at the Sochi 2014 Olympic
Winter Games, visitors to Winterlude can join an outdoor viewing of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 7, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

On Saturday, February 8, professional ice carvers face off in an ice-carving championship and students from local high schools will create colourful ice mosaics
as part of Kaleidoscope.

Later that evening, Canadian comedic sensation Rick Mercer and his
hilarious friend Patrick McKenna bring stand-up comedy with a message
to Winterlude with the Stand-Up to Bullying Comedy Hour beginning at 7 p.m. This special event to bring awareness and support
to local youth mental health initiatives is presented by the Cracking
up the Capital Comedy Festival and leads into the Winterblast DJ Dance Party, a youth celebration with electro hip-hop group Ain't No Love!

On Sunday, February 9, visitors will learn the secrets of ice carving and how carvers use their tools to create a work of art from a block of
ice.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to create their own ice
carvings with the help of professionals during the Public Ice-Carving Challenge on Sunday, February 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Registration
required, participants must be at least 18 years of age.)

Presented by Canadian Heritage and the Ville de Gatineau, Snowflake Kingdom is North America's biggest snow playground. It is the ideal destination
for the young and the young at heart. This family-friendly paradise
features giant snow slides and an outdoor amphitheatre.

On Winterlude's second weekend, visitors will have the chance to:

meet the Ice Hog family, Winterlude's official mascots, and get one of their famous hugs

hold an official torch from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and take a
seat in a bobsleigh for a unique photo opportunity

Visitors to the Skateway will also have the opportunity to test their
skills at the Giant Tiger Interactive Hockey Zone, move their muscles at the GoodLife Fitness Zone, or warm up with hot
apple cider and play the OLG Sno-Bus Snowball Toss game at the OLG Sno-Bus Station at Fifth Avenue.

This fantastic 7.8-kilometre ice surface, which opened for its 44th season on December 31, 2013, offers families and fun-seekers a wide
variety of services, including food concessions, skate and sleigh
rentals, skate sharpening, rest areas, and boot check services.

Programming Partners

For the 36th Winterlude, more than 90 programming partners, from Ottawa and
Gatineau's private and public sectors, have come together to offer
visitors a wide-range of indoor and outdoor activities aimed at
animating the Capital like never before.

Here is just a sampling of what is taking place on the second weekend of
Winterlude: